Hidden Moments
by Stargirl888
Summary: Some moments between a couple are private, profound, and incomprehensible to everyone else.  A few personal Brittana moments as viewed by the other gleeks.
1. Late

**Title: **Hidden Moments 1/5 – Late

**Author: **Stargirl888

**Word Count: **approx 500 for part 1

**Spoilers: **None - AU

**Pairing: **Brittany/Santana

**Rating: **T

**WARNINGS: **Light Angst

**Summary: **Some moments between a couple are private, profound, and incomprehensible to everyone else

**A/N: **So I prompted something similar at the fluff meme a while back but now decided to fill it myself. Special thanks to my beta!

**A/N 2: **This is the most planned and thought out fic I've written to date and I'm rather proud of it so please let me know your thoughts.

Mercedes heard the tell tale giggle echo from behind the row of lockers and rolled her eyes to herself, wondering if those two would ever learn that fooling around in semi-public Cheerio locker rooms was not appropriate behaviour. She decided interrupting wasn't worth the inevitable argument Santana would start and so began to quickly grab the rest of her stuff, praying for a speedy exit as the rattle of metal told her that one of the two was, she presumed, now pressed against the lockers. Throwing her tog over her shoulder she hesitated when Brittany fell silent mid giggle.

"B?" Santana's tone did little to hide her annoyance at whatever the blond had done, or not done as the case may be. Unable to resist Mercedes chanced a glance around the corner to see Brittany half pressed against the far row of lockers with Santana's leg hitched around her hip, one hand on Santana's ass, the other hidden from Mercedes' sight, though she guessed it was wedged between the pair of them.

Thankfully the blonds full attention seemed to be on the Latina or Mercedes would have easily been seen, as it was her blue eyes did not stray from Santana's brown ones.

"What date is it today?" she asked, expression unreadable and Mercedes couldn't help but feel she was intruding, and not just because of the pairs physical proximity.

"Uhh, fourteenth I guess." Santana replied distractedly, trying to kiss the blonds throat, only to be pushed back.

"No, it's the sixteenth today. I know because Mr Schue wanted me to put the date on my worksheet in Spanish."

"Then why do you ask if you already know the answer?" Santana snapped, lowering her leg and moving away, causing Mercedes to duck back out of sight. She should leave; she knew whatever was going on was private, and that if Santana actually decided to leave she'd be caught eves dropping, but she couldn't help but stay, the gossip in her demanding more information so instead she settled on silently moving closer to the door in the hope of getting more information but also being able to make a speedy get away should it be necessary.

"You know why I'm asking." Brittany replied quietly. There was a slight shuffling sound.

"Let go of my arm B." Mercedes eyes widened in surprise at Santana's tone, never having heard Santana speak to Brittany in a tone she usually reserved for freshmen and one Rachel Berry. Quick footsteps told Mercedes that Brittany must have complied and the sound of a locker opening and shutting followed. Santana let out a small sigh.

"It's been the same day every month since we were freshmen." Brittany tried again "You always said we could rely on it being like clockwork unless..."

"Look, don't worry about it B," Santana cut her off. "I've just been stressed. Next month it'll all go back to normal."

Knowing she was already cutting it close Mercedes quickly made her exit, her head spinning with unanswered questions.


	2. Out

**Title: **Hidden Moments 2/5 – Out

"What am I going to do now?"

Kurt paused just before rounding the corner into Beach Street during his evening run. He thought he vaguely recognised the voice, but for the life of him couldn't place it. Whoever it was was audibly upset though.

"You're going to get through this, just like you've gotten through everything else life has thrown at you." Now that voice he placed straight away, which meant he had a fair bet who her companion was. Not quite believing it though since it was by far the most lucid thing he had ever heard her say he chanced a peek around the tree on the corner that was blocking the road from view before quickly pulling back as the impact of the sight hit him. He then knew why he hadn't placed her voice before; he had never heard her so quiet and dejected – whenever Santana spoke at school she was always guarded, her voice harsh and cold, never coloured by more than the most superficial of emotions, but now...now was different. Sneaking another glance he gasped as the setting sunlight caused the tears trickling down her cheek to shimmer; there was something unsettling with seeing the latina girl this way; sitting crouched on the pavement curled into a tight ball as though trying to physically keep herself together any other way. Santana was meant to be the strong one, the cold hearted bitch who kept everyone in line and never let anything get to her, no one would believe that that same girl was now sitting on the side of the road with tears running down her face.

He should leave, Kurt knew it was a bad idea to stay, and not just because if Santana found out she'd most likely have him drawn and quartered for seeing her momentary weakness but also because it felt wrong to intrude on her pain. He couldn't seem to help himself though, he had to know what had caused this change, so he stayed.

"When I told him," Santana's voice floated back to Kurts hiding spot, carrying clearly on the quiet evening air. "I..I thought..."

"You should have waited for someone to be with you," Brittany's voice had an edge to it that Kurt had never heard before, though he was not quite sure who it was directed at.

"Why ?" Her demand was harsh, but the desperation it attempted to hide was easy to distinguish. "No one could've changed his mind."

Kurt chanced another quick look. Santana was pacing now, her back to Kurt, her every move tense and sharp while Brittany, who had remained seated up till then now stood up, grabbing Santana's hands as she passed and pulling the girl to a stop before her. Her next words so quiet Kurt had to strain to hear them, curiosity compelling him to actually lean around the tree and risking discovery.

"I would have been there for you." Brittany gently released her right hand, reaching to gently caress the latina's cheek. Santana winced slightly at the touch ut didn't pull away, her eyes closing briefly.

"I told you once before," Santana's eyes fluttered open, the sun taking that moment to completely drop behind the houses, making it hard to see, though Kurt was certain that their gazes were locked intently on each other, Brittany's hand still resting lightly on her cheek. "I will never let him near enough to hurt you."

Kurt felt himself shiver at the conviction in her voice before they both fell into an understanding silence, where Kurt knew that even without words they were communicating.

"And now it appears I don't have to worry about him being near me either." Santana added a moment later, bitterness infusing her tone as she let out a humourless bark of laughter, Brittany's arm dropping to her side and their shadows separating as Brittany bent to pick up what Kurt presumed was their bags, throwing both over her shoulder.

"Come on, lets get you some frozen veg." Brittany suggested, reaching out her arm to the still immobile figure who accepted the invite, no doubt linking pinkies as they began to walk down the street, and thankfully away from Kurt's hiding place.


	3. Tired

**Title: **Hidden Moments 3/5 – Tired

Rachel was walking through the end shelves of the library, intent on finding information on the lungs for biology when she heard it; a soft sigh and a quiet 'thanks'. The quiet sentiment would have been ignored had she not recognised the voice that said it. Pausing her search for a moment, she moved along the shelves until she found a gap between the books to peer through. Through the limited space she could see the small private study area that was set up at the very back of the library and the two cheerio's seated at the table. Rachel knew eves dropping was wrong, she knew that the pair, or Santana at least, would probably kill her if she found out, but try as she might, Rachel could not force herself to move away.

Santana was seated on the right side of the table, head resting on her hands, gaze unfocused on the book before her, her profile visible to Rachel from her hiding spot. Rachel watched as Brittany, sitting so close to Santana's side their chairs touched, gently laid a hand on her companions back, drawing Santana's gaze to her. Their eyes met, and if Rachel had ever needed proof that telekinetic communication worked she had it then, as their gazes were filled with more meaning than she could possibly comprehend. They sat like that, just looking at each other for a long time, communicating more effectively than words ever could, and Rachel knew she should look away, that she was intruding on something deeply personal, and yet she was entranced, the whole library could have been in flames around her and she would still be enraptured by the pair. Then, with a quiet sigh Brittany broke the little bubble they had been in.

"You're tired." Her tone was kind but filled with far more concern than mere lack of sleep warranted. Brittany wrapped her arm around Santana's shoulders and the latina allowed herself to be pulled into the blond's embrace, her eyes closing and a single glistening tear trickling down her cheek.

"Rachel? The anatomy section is over here." Mrs Prince, the librarian's, voice caused Rachel to snap out of her revere so fast she practically got whiplash.

"Oh...okay, thank you." Rachel mumbled, trying to collect her thoughts. Glancing back through the gap one last time before heading over to where Mrs Prince was pointing, she saw the two had moved apart, and both were apparently absorbed in their work, giving no indication of what had just transpired.


	4. Weak

**Title: **Hidden Moments 4/5 – Sickness and Weakness

The loud bang of door hitting tile reverberated through the bathroom as someone swung the door open with excessive force, followed by the sound of a stall door also banging open. Tine hastily stood and readjusted her clothes as someone began to throw up in one of the toilets a couple of stalls down from her, her hand stilling on the lock when she heard someone else enter the room.

"San?" Brittany's voice sounded softly, her light footsteps echoing loudly as she no doubt crossed to the stall Tina now knew Santana occupied. After a few more moments the retching stopped and she heard someone, presumably Santana, slouch against the stall wall.

"Thanks." She murmured quietly

"Come on, you need to get off the floor, it's not hydraulic."

"Hygienic," Santana corrected absently and after a moment of shuffling Tina heard someone turn the tap on.

Deciding to just wait for them to leave she quietly moved back to perch on the toilet lid – chances were they wouldn't be long and it was never a good idea to give Cheerios more opportunities for mockery than they already had in the halls, even if Santana had toned down a bit since joining glee.

"Here," Brittany murmured, and, curiosity getting the better of her Tina gingerly climbed onto the toilet lid to peer over the top of the stall – she reasoned she was going to hear whatever they were saying anyway so she may as well watch too. Brittany passed Santana a stick of chewing gum while surveying her unblinkingly while Santana just gripped the edge of the sink tight enough to turn her knuckles white, her head bowed.

"Fuck it B." Santana exclaimed in frustration, hitting the edge of the sink with her hand, as though words were not sufficient to express herself. Clearly though, none of it was aimed at Brittany, who quickly went to lock the door to the hallway, causing Tina to mentally echo Santana's sentiment, since apparently this was not something anyone but Brittany was meant to be privy to.

"You're throwing up more often." Brittany commented

"Doc says if I'm lucky it'll only last a couple of months." Santana replied, finally looking up to watch herself in the mirror, allowing Tina to see that, despite her level tone, there were tears streaking down the latina's face.

"What am I doing B?" She asked without looking away, not bothering to wipe away the moisture flowing down her cheeks. "How could I have possibly been so stupid? And to make it worse my emotions are a fucking mess – I mean, look at me; I'm in tears for fucks sake." She roughly wiped away a couple of tears

Brittany just watched Santana with a quiet intensity, clearly thinking it best to just allow her to get it all out.

"This will ruin my life, and I can't stand the fact that it's going to ruin yours too." Santana muttered, finally breaking eye contact with her reflection and turning to look at her companion instead, apology apparent in her every feature.

"No." Brittany refuted, her loud, determined tone causing Tina to jump and almost loose her footing after Santana's quiet broken one. Crossing the room in two long strides Brittany moved to stand before Santana, her body radiating a quiet intensity she had never imagined Brittany even had the ability to experience.

"No." She repeated in a gentler but just as firm voice, her hands gripping Santana's arms firmly "This is not going to ruin your life, and it's not going to ruin mine. We're going to get through this, together, and everything will work itself out. I know you like to think you can do everything by yourself, but this time you can't, and I'm not going to give you the opportunity to try. So stop asking me to leave you alone, stop trying to push me away because I'm not going anywhere. Got it?"

Santana let out a half chuckle, and nodded slightly. "Got it."

"Good." Brittany chirped , her tone doing a complete 180 as she was once again her chipper self, and pecked Santana's lips lightly, confirming Tina's suspicions that they were more than friends, and, considering the conversation she'd just overheard, she'd wager more than friends with benefits too.

Separating, Brittany went to wet a paper towel and gently wiped away the tear stains on Santana's cheeks.

"There." Brittany murmured when she was done and Santana offered her a soft smile that was reserved specially for the blond "You better go if you don't want to be late for Math again."

"Not that I really care." Santana mumbled and Tina once again ducked out of site in case either of the pair decided to glance round the room before she left.

"You not coming?" Santana asked as the lock clicked loudly.

"I wanted to use the toilet before heading to Art."

The door swung shut a second later and Tina was alone with the blond.

"Tina, you can come out now."

Freezing, as though by remaining still could fool Brittany into believing she'd made a mistake she waited and a second later she was knocking on the cubical door.

"You're not locked in are you?" Brittany tried rattling the door harder.

"No," Tina called, hastily gathering her wits as she unlocked the door, coming face to face with the tall Cheerio.

"Oh good, I was worried you were stuck and I'd have to call Mr Johnson." Brittany said, looking overly relieved.

"Mr Johnson?" Tina questioned - there were no teachers with that name.

"He's the afternoon janitor." She replied as though this was something everyone would know.

"I see." Tina replied dumbly, wondering why she was surprised in the first place – this was Brittany after all. Deciding to put on an act of normalcy and pretending she had not just witnessed Santana Lopez, HBIC, in tears Tina brushed past Brittany and headed to the sink to wash her hands, jumping in surprise when she turned back around to find Brittany practically on top of her, and seriously invading her personal space.

Tina actually flinched at her hard expression, actually remembering for the first time in ages that Brittany was in fact a Cheerio.

"I don't know what you think you heard, or what you think you saw, but it didn't happen." She practically growled, and were it not for the deadly serious glint in her eyes Tina would have laughed at the blonds tough girl attitude. "No one, especially not Santana, will ever know you were in here. Got it?" The two words suddenly sounding much more menacing than when Brittany had said them to Santana a few minutes earlier.

Tina nodded furiously – Brittany could apparently be much scarier than people gave her credit for and Tina breathed a sigh of relief as she finally stepped out of her personal space.

"Well, okay then." Suddenly the ditzy cheerleader was back in full force "I'll see you in Glee."

Nodding mutely Tina watched the blond exit, realising for the first time how much more there was to her than the slow, slightly dumb Brittany that she had come to expect her to be.


	5. Together

**Title: **Hidden Moments 5/5 – Together

Taking stock of her life so far Santana would never understand how it had gone so completely off course, how things had spun so far out of her control.

Santana lay at an angle across the large double bed with a lilac comforter and duck shaped throw pillow, her head pillowed on the tall blond's stomach, eyes closed as she enjoyed the feel of long fingers combing gently through her dark locks. It was one of those moments that you never want to end, a few minutes where all your troubles disappear and all that's left is a blissful, calming silence.

It was moments like this that Santana relished because they were so rare in her life, especially now. Someone had recently asked her what her favourite part of her relationship with Brittany was and she had smirked and said 'the sex', but honestly, it was moments like these that she cherished the most, when they would just be together, when words were just an unnecessary distraction because who needed words when you understood each other so completely?

So Brittany wasn't surprised when she noticed the glimmer of tears streaking tanned cheeks, she didn't need to ask the reason for them, she just continued to twirl soft strands of dark hair between her fingers until the tears turned into wracking sobs, to which her only response was to gather the latina in her arms and rock her gently as she cried it all out.

And cry Santana did – it started slow, her sheer gratefulness for having someone like Brittany in her life suddenly overwhelming her until she couldn't help but let the tears out. She blamed it on the hormones at first, though if she were really honest she would have probably cried even if the baby wasn't throwing her body out of whack, then she cried for the child; a boy, she had recently found out, that he would never get to know his grandparents, who were too closed minded to even acknowledge him and that he would be raised by a teenage mother who had no clue what she was doing, no means to support herself and was living off the charity of others after being thrown out of her childhood home, and finally she cried for herself, for the life she was meant to have and the one she was currently living. She let all the anger, resentment, fear, and thankfulness flow into those tears until finally there was no more.

Slowly, ever so slowly she once again became aware of the hand that was now rubbing soothing circles on her back, the arms that were securely wrapped around her, the steady heart beat vibrating through the chest her head was resting on and the scent that was indescribably Brittany, and just like that she knew, that despite everything, she would get through it – _they _would get through it, _together._

**Fin! **

**Reviews for the wonderful author who posted all 5 parts at once instead of making you wait? ;) **


End file.
